Page 1602 - Week 04 - Thursday, 29 March 2012
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for reporting by parties, MLAs and associated entities for the 2011-12 year, as proposed in transitional amendments 507 and 508 of clause 70 of the amendment bill.
These amendments will ensure that the Electoral Act operates in a way that maximises administrative simplicity and ensures that all political parties intended to be covered by the proposed scheme in the bill are covered. The government has taken the close and detailed advice of the Electoral Commission in relation to the operation of all the clauses in the government bill. I thank the commissioner and his staff for their assistance, and I would also like to thank staff of my directorate who have undertaken a very considerable body of work in a very short period of time. I thank them for their efforts.
Before closing debate on the in-principle stage, I wish to make a couple of comments on the way forward. This is a radical and significant departure from the existing regime for the disclosure of election campaign finance in the territory. It is a complex task, and it is made more complex by a wide number of further detailed amendments being proposed by both the opposition and the Greens.
To ensure that we have a considered, detailed and accurate debate when the bill returns to the Assembly in the next sittings—at this point in time that is the government’s intention—I think it would be valuable if the three parties were to meet and discuss in detail the different amendments that are now on the table so that we can conclude a position which identifies areas of agreement so that amendments can be dealt with promptly and, further, those areas where there is not agreement so that they can be the focus of debate in this place when the bill returns for the detailed stage.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Bill agreed to in principle.
Detail stage
Clause 1.
Debate (on motion by Mr Corbell) adjourned to the next sitting.
Mr John Hargreaves—point of order
Statement by Speaker
MR SPEAKER: Members, just before we move to the adjournment, earlier today in question time Mr Hargreaves took a point of order on an interjection Mr Hanson made which he felt was unparliamentary. I have now reviewed the tapes, and it was one of those cases where both members were right in the sense that none of us heard the first part of Mr Hanson’s interjection, which ensured that it was not unparliamentary. There will be no further action on that matter.
Adjournment
Motion (by Mr Corbell) proposed:
That the Assembly do now adjourn.
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